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Our History  The history of Black Seal Rum® and the Gosling family began long ago. In the spring of 1806 James Gosling, the oldest son of William Gosling, wine and spirits merchant, set out from England on the ship, Mercury, with £10,000 of merchandise, bound for America. After ninety-one desperate days on a becalmed sea their charter ran out, and they put in at the nearest port, St. George’s, Bermuda. Rather than pressing on for America, James opened a shop on the King’s Parade, St. George’s in December 1806. In 1824 James returned to England and his brother Ambrose rented a shop on Front Street in the new Capitol of Hamilton for £25 a year. The Gosling’s have maintained a store at this location for 127 years.  In 1857 the firm was
renamed Gosling Brothers by Ambrose’s sons. Three
years later the first oak barrels of rum distillate arrived in Bermuda. Three
years later, after much trial and error, the distinctive Bermuda black rum
destined to be Black Seal was formulated and offered for sale. They didn’t
call it Black Seal at first. In fact, up until the First World War it was only
sold from the barrel, and most folks brought in their own bottles for a “fill
up”. Eventually the black rum was sold in champagne bottles, reclaimed
from the British Officer’s Mess, and the corks sealed with black sealing
wax.Pretty soon people began to ask for the “Black Seal”. Many years later the idea of the little, barrel juggling “Black Seal” was born. Over the years Black Seal has become synonymous with Bermuda. It is the essential additive to Bermuda fish chowder, adds the island touch to Bermuda Rum Swizzle, and is the tempest in Bermuda’s favorite cocktail – the Dark ‘n Stormy®. A family business for nearly 200 years Gosling’s is today the only company that blends and bottles in Bermuda, and is the largest exporter of a Bermuda made product. |
